Posted on 07/30/2012 8:31:11 AM PDT by Kaslin
In a welcome, common sense ruling, Court lets Stockton, Calif. cut retiree health care
A federal bankruptcy judge on Friday cleared the way for Stockton, California to cut health care benefits for retirees while it is in bankruptcy proceedings.Flood of City Bankruptcies Coming
Stockton is seeking Chapter 9 protection from its creditors and said that it would cut retiree health benefits while it reorganizes. Retired employees sued to stop those cuts.
Judge Christopher Klein on Friday issued a temporary order denying the bid to stop the benefit cuts, and he said a formal decision was on its way.
Stockton's attorneys had argued that bankruptcy law gave the city wide latitude on how to spend its revenue while it prepares a plan to restructure its finances.
"For the reasons explained in the forthcoming decision of this court, the Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction or in the Alternative for Relief from Stay is DENIED," Klein wrote.
By 2014 JCPenney PLans to Eliminate All Check-Out Clerks, and instead use self-checkout machines and RFID chips.
Struggling retailer JCPenney is making some big changes that will affect customers and its clerks. The store is getting rid of its check-out counters.End of JCPenny?
CEO Ron Johnson said it will remove check-out counters in stores and replace them with a system that won't require clerks. It's all part of an effort to return the department store chain to profitability.
Shoppers will be able to use self check-out machines, similar to those found in grocery stores.
JCPenney is also planning to replace traditional bar codes on price tags with high-tech radio frequency identification, or "RFID" chips to make purchases faster.
Johnson told "Fortune" magazine he hopes to phase out check-out counters by 2014.
I was passing thru a JCP store over the weekend. You could have set a bomb off and not hurt anyone. Literally no one on the upper floor and just two ladies browsing costume jewelry on the lower floor. I did notice that they had shut down the Service Desk (formerly the Catalog Desk), removing all terminals and registers, and, one assumes, laying off the staff. Looks to me like they’re already out of business.
I went through the JCPenny store at the mall about a month ago. It was a mausoleum. I was shopping for some casual shorts and shirts; very poor selection. Told the wife I’d just shop at Kohl’s instead.
I think Penny’s is dead.
Rockland, ME JCP is a ghost of its former self too. Nothing in the store but the stuff no one wants.
The Kohl’s stores around here seem to be doing at least steady business, so can’t chalk it up to the lousy economy. The problem IS JCP (and that dweeb from Apple Computer)
What a shame...Government employees get a taste of what the private sector has been experiencing for the past 5 years.
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